Australia & New Zealand Data Response International Trade (Sep.) The widening of the trade balance in September was not enough to prevent trade from being a significant drag on growth in Q3. 5th November 2020 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia Retail Sales (Sep./Q3) The strong rebound in retail sales in Q3 was probably matched by a rebound in services consumption and has further to run as Victoria reopens. 4th November 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia - QE will probably be extended beyond April The RBA didn’t disappoint when it cut interest rates and launched quantitative easing today. And even though it turned more optimistic about the economic outlook, we suspect it will expand its... 3rd November 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia - CoreLogic House Prices (Oct.) Australia’s housing downturn came to an end last month and we reiterate our forecast that house prices will rise by 7% in 2021, led by Sydney. 2nd November 2020 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Inflation may not weaken all that much Underlying inflation bounced back more strongly last quarter than we had anticipated and with the economy now opening up again, we’ve revised up our near-term forecasts. However, the Reserve Bank of... 30th October 2020 · 8 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack On the road to recovery As restrictions have been lifted in both countries, activity has rebounded. Admittedly, the second draconian lockdown in Victoria will hold back the recovery in GDP in Australia in Q3 and Q4. But we... 29th October 2020 · 11 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Australia - Consumer Prices (Q3) The surge in quarterly inflation in Q3 only unwound some of the weakness in Q2 and we still expect underlying inflation to remain weak for years to come. 28th October 2020 · 3 mins read
RBA Watch RBA to cut rates to 0.10% and launch QE The Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates and launch quantitative easing at its upcoming meeting on Melbourne Cup Day. We suspect that aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus will pave the... 28th October 2020 · 7 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly RBA QE to involve volume rather than yield target The minutes of the latest meeting all but confirmed that the Reserve Bank of Australia will launch quantitative easing at its upcoming meeting in November. While we previously argued that the RBA... 23rd October 2020 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update How much QE will the RBA deliver? The RBA’s assets will rise further over the coming months as banks draw down funding under the TFF. But so will the assets of other central banks. If the Bank wanted to catch up with the advanced... 21st October 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly More QE on the horizon RBA Governor Lowe announced this week that the Bank will keep rates on hold until actual inflation, rather than expected inflation, was sustainably in the 2-3% target band. And he also argued that the... 16th October 2020 · 6 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economic Outlook Huge policy support paves way for strong recovery Australia and New Zealand have had far greater success in containing the virus than most other large advanced economies. Coupled with huge fiscal support, that means that the recovery in economic... 15th October 2020 · 24 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Data Response Labour Market (Sep.) The drop in employment in September was largely due to weakness in Victoria. As restrictions ease there, we expect the unemployment rate to fall again in the coming months. 15th October 2020 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Fiscal stimulus now, monetary stimulus in November This week’s Australian Budget injected another huge dose of fiscal stimulus. Some of the measures may not be quite as effective as those in earlier rounds of stimulus but taken together Australia’s... 9th October 2020 · 5 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Fiscal policy set to remain loose We estimate that the income tax cuts and other stimulus measures unveiled in today’s Budget will provide fiscal support of around 2.5% of GDP in 2021/22. That won’t prevent a major tightening in... 6th October 2020 · 3 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Australia - Bank to announce more easing in November The RBA kept policy settings unchanged today but signaled that more stimulus is forthcoming. We now expect the Bank to cut the cash rate target, the 3-year yield target and the interest rate on the... 6th October 2020 · 3 mins read
